FAA Compliance & Recordkeeping Standards
This is a reference for pilots, mechanics, and inspectors.
AirLogbooks gives you everything you need to keep clean, compliant records — but it won’t do it for you. Aircraft owners, operators, pilots, and certificated mechanics remain responsible for making complete and correct records.
How AirLogbooks Holds Up Under These Standards
Are digital aircraft maintenance records FAA compliant?
Regulation
14 CFR §91.417(a)
“Except for work performed in accordance with §§91.411 and 91.413, each owner or operator shall keep the following records for the periods specified in paragraph (b) of this section.”
FAA Guidance
AC 120-78B
“This advisory circular (AC) provides guidance on the use of electronic signatures, electronic recordkeeping systems…”
Plain English
FAA recordkeeping requirements focus on the existence, completeness, retention, and accessibility of the records. They do not require paper as the only acceptable format.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Stores maintenance entries in a structured, retrievable digital record system
- Preserves both the entry and its supporting documentation together
- Makes records accessible for review, export, and transfer when needed
Do I still need to keep paper logbooks?
Regulation
14 CFR §91.417(b)(1)
“The records specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section must be retained and transferred with the aircraft at the time the aircraft is sold.”
Plain English
The rule requires the records to be retained and transferred with the aircraft. It does not say those records must exist only in paper form.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Maintains the aircraft record digitally as a complete system, not just isolated files
- Supports export and transfer for sale, review, or backup
- Reduces reliance on fragile physical books as the only record location
Should I destroy my paper logbooks after going digital?
FAA Perspective
The FAA requires maintenance records to be accurate, complete, and retained. Even where electronic records are acceptable, original records remain part of the aircraft’s historical documentation.
Plain English
Digitizing your records does not erase the value of the originals. Paper logbooks still matter as part of the aircraft’s history, especially for inspections, audits, and resale.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Preserves original scanned logbook pages and supporting documents
- Links source records directly to structured entries where appropriate
- Keeps the original record and the structured digital system aligned
Recommended Practice
Do not discard original logbooks solely because they have been digitized. Keeping both provides the strongest and most defensible record set.
AirLogbooks is designed to complement your existing records — not erase them.
What must be included in a maintenance entry?
Regulation
14 CFR §43.9(a)
Each person who performs maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration must make a maintenance record entry containing the required information, including description of work, completion date, identity of the person performing the work, and signature / certificate information where required.
Plain English
A maintenance entry must record what was done, when it was done, who performed it, and the applicable certificate/signature details required for return to service.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Uses structured entry fields to capture the required maintenance record elements consistently
- Prompts for certificate number and certificate type where applicable
- Presents entries in a standardized format for readability and review
How does AirLogbooks help prevent incomplete or incorrect entries?
Regulation
14 CFR §43.9
Maintenance record entries must contain the required information, including description of work, date, signature, and certificate information where applicable.
Plain English
Missing or incomplete information creates compliance risk and makes the record harder to trust.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Uses structured fields to help capture the required information consistently
- Prompts users through the required entry elements
- Uses standardized formatting to reduce variation and omission risk
- Improves readability and consistency across the aircraft record
Are electronic signatures allowed?
FAA Guidance
AC 120-78B
“An electronic signature is any electronic method that is executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign a record.”
AC 120-78B
Electronic recordkeeping systems must ensure record integrity and signature authenticity.
Plain English
Electronic signatures are permitted when the system can associate the signer with the record and preserve the integrity of what was signed.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Ties the signature action to the user identity associated with the entry
- Stores certificate information with the signed record
- Preserves a traceable connection between the signer and the record they signed
Can records be altered after they are signed?
FAA Guidance
AC 120-78B
Electronic recordkeeping systems must ensure data integrity, authenticity, and reliability.
Plain English
Once a record is signed, it should not be changed casually or invisibly. If a correction is needed, the change should remain controlled and traceable.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Signed maintenance entries are locked against ordinary editing
- Corrections are handled through archive-and-replace workflows rather than silent overwrites
- Original records remain historically traceable
- Audit controls preserve who changed what and when
How does AirLogbooks handle errors or corrections?
FAA Expectation
Corrections should not obscure the original record and should remain traceable over time.
Plain English
Mistakes happen, but the record should still show what changed and preserve the historical trail.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Original entries are retained in historical workflows rather than silently replaced
- Corrections are handled through archive-and-replace processes
- Audit trails preserve the change history
- Historical visibility is maintained alongside the corrected record
How does AirLogbooks protect record integrity and auditability?
FAA Guidance
AC 120-78B
Electronic recordkeeping systems must ensure data integrity, authenticity, and reliability.
Plain English
The record must remain trustworthy over time. That means it cannot be casually altered, the signer must remain identifiable, and the record history must stay traceable.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Signed maintenance entries are locked against ordinary editing
- Corrections are handled through archival/history-preserving workflows rather than silent overwrites
- Historical record traceability is retained through system audit controls
- Controlled access helps protect the integrity of the stored records
What records must be kept long-term?
Regulation
14 CFR §91.417(a)(2)
Requires retention of records including total time in service, life-limited parts status, time since overhaul, current inspection status, and current status of applicable airworthiness directives.
Plain English
The operator must be able to show current aircraft status over time, including total time, component status, inspections, and AD compliance status.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Tracks airframe, engine, and propeller times in service
- Supports inspection status and recurring maintenance tracking
- Keeps AD-related status and supporting references organized within the aircraft record
How are records transferred during a sale or inspection?
Regulation
14 CFR §91.417(b)(1)
The required records in §91.417(a)(2) must be retained and transferred with the aircraft when it is sold.
Plain English
When an aircraft changes hands, the records have to go with it in a form the next owner can actually use.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Supports full aircraft record export on demand
- Allows digital sharing for inspection, due diligence, and review
- Provides printable output when a traditional handoff is preferred
- Keeps the record usable outside the live application environment
What happens if data is lost or the system fails?
FAA Expectation
Electronic systems are expected to keep records available, reliable, and recoverable enough to remain operationally useful.
Plain English
Records cannot simply disappear. You need to be able to access and reproduce them when needed.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Stores records digitally so they are not dependent on a single physical book
- Supports export of full aircraft records for retention and transfer
- Allows printable/exportable records for backup and review
- Is designed around continued accessibility of the stored record
Do digital records need to be printable or human-readable?
FAA Guidance
AC 120-78B
Electronic records should be capable of being displayed and reproduced in a human-readable format.
Plain English
If the record cannot be clearly displayed, reviewed, and reproduced when needed, it is not functioning as an acceptable operational record.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Allows records to be displayed clearly in the application
- Supports printable/exportable output for review, inspections, sales, and backup
- Keeps entries and supporting documents organized for retrieval
How are supporting documents handled?
FAA Expectation
Supporting records should remain organized, retrievable, and tied to the aircraft history they support.
Plain English
Documents like 8130-3s, 337s, STCs, and related records need to be tied to the correct entries and easy to find.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Organizes key documents in the Aircraft Records Vault
- Allows supporting documents to be attached directly to maintenance entries
- Preserves supporting documents alongside the aircraft record
- Makes retrieval faster for inspection, audit, and sale preparation
Does AirLogbooks preserve original records?
FAA Expectation
Original records and supporting documentation should remain part of the aircraft’s usable historical record.
Plain English
You should not lose the original source record just because you also maintain a structured digital record.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Preserves original scanned logbook pages and supporting documents
- Links original source records directly to structured entries where appropriate
- Maintains historical source material alongside the structured record system
Are scanned logbooks by themselves enough?
Plain English
A scan preserves an image of the page, but by itself it does not track current AD status, inspection status, total time progression, or structured maintenance history.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Preserves original scans and supporting documents
- Links documents directly to the relevant aircraft record entries
- Adds structured data, searchability, filtering, and reporting on top of the original record images
Can an inspector quickly review and understand the records?
Plain English
If a reviewer cannot quickly follow the history, the record may still exist, but the review process becomes slower, harder, and less reliable.
How AirLogbooks supports this
- Uses clean, standardized formatting for entries
- Supports search and filtering across the record set
- Presents aircraft history in an organized timeline
- Provides rapid access to supporting documents tied to the record
What should I show a DPE, IA, mechanic, buyer, or reviewer?
Plain English
When someone is reviewing your records, the most important thing is that the information is complete, clear, accessible, and easy to trace.
Practical approach
- Show the aircraft or pilot record directly in AirLogbooks
- Be prepared to display the signed entries and supporting documents tied to those records
- Use exports when a printed or portable copy is needed
- Present the system as the organized digital record, not just a folder of scans
Complete, Accurate, and Accessible Beats Paper for Paper’s Sake.
FAA recordkeeping requirements are about preserving the record, not preserving paper as a ritual. AirLogbooks is designed to help owners, pilots, mechanics, and reviewers work from a record system that is complete, organized, traceable, and usable when it matters.